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RENT Send This Review to a Friend
The screen version of “Rent” is better than the stage version, which is still on Broadway. For one thing, one can understand the lyrics more clearly, which may not always be a plus. But in case you miss any, rest assured that they will be repeated and repeated. The score is one of those simplistic ones, with lyrics to match, aiming to give the musical the heart that the late Jonathan Larson poured into the original.
In the film, directed by Chris Columbus and written by Stephen Chbosky, the cast is an appealing one that gains from being seen up close in the story about struggling characters in New York’s Alphabet City who are fighting against being evicted and trying to find their niche in life. A would-be filmmaker, a transvestite and his gay lover, a lesbian couple, struggles with drugs and AIDS—such are the ingredients in this us-versus-them story. The inspiration is “La Bohème”--the main female character is named Mimi--and when we hear a few strains of Puccini it reminds us of what good music can be like, a far cry from Larson’s “La Vie Bohème” that is drilled into us.
The film comes most alive when it is given over to the charismatic Idina Menzel as Maureen, who jilts Mark (Anthony Rapp), the aspiring filmmaker, for a lesbian relationship with Joanne (Tracie Thoms). When Menzel tears loose in a musical number, the result is terrific. Taye Diggs is impressive as Benny, who has sold out his friendship with the protestors in the service of a real estate plan to evict everybody and re-do the neighborhood. Wilson Jermaine Heredia is poignant as the AIDS-stricken transvestite Angel, in love with Tom, played feelingly by Jesse L. Martin.
One gets to like the entourage. It is the music and lyrics that can still be off-putting if one isn’t a fan. I couldn’t stand the sound-blasting stage “Rent.” But for all of the above reasons, the film is an improvement, further helped by the way director Columbus opens it up by taking it colorfully into the streets. There are times when the film is downright touching. A Columbia Pictures release.
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